Monday, November 20. 2006
I was more than pleasantly surprised when I saw these two CDs come accross my desk. Rik Emmett of course was one-third of the 70s-80s stadium rockers Triumph. Triumph alway teetered on the edge of progressive rock, but with a much more blue collar, every-man appeal.
Rik never tried to hide his virtuosity and his love of acoustic/classical/jazz guitar. When Triumph came to an end, Rik dabbled a little in rock, but the acoustic guitar appears to have (at least for now) won out.
The Best of Rik Emmett from The Millenium Collection series chronicles that transformation, and offers a retrospective of Rik's solo career through 2001. The CD opens with "Saved by Love" from Rik's debut solo release. This is still a "rock" song but with a more adult contemporary lean. Following are samples of Rik's unique take on flamenco, R&B, hard rock, and world music.
The CD isn't in chronological order, which I might have prefered, but the order does provide a pleasant listen. Possibly saving the best for last, the final three tracks on the CD are "unplugged" interpretations of classic Triumph songs recorded in 2000 and 2001. For me, the true test of a great rock song is if it still has the same power when played acoustically. The Triumph classics "Lay It On The Line" and "Hold On" do. Rounding out this exploration is a beautiful solo rendition of "Suitcase Blues." This gives us a taste of Rik's jazz stylings, which are not otherwise featured in this collection.
Strung-Out Troubadours combines the talents of Dave Dunlop with those of Rik Emmett. Let's put this into perspective, shall we? You'd need to be one hell of a guitarist to back up Rik, let alone receive the equal billing that Dave does.
The CD for the most part is acoustic, although there is a little keyboard and drums. It opens with "Light of Day" which sets the mood for the rest of the album: Vibrant, uplifting and inspiring. The songs are pretty much evenly divided between instumental and vocal.
As a guitar player, I was of course impressed with Rik and Dave's playing. What impressed me even more was the tastefulness and the fact that they kept Troubadours from turning into a shred fest. Yes, these guys rip at times, but they also know when to lay back and let the music speak.
The high points for me were "Light of Day," "Cross Country," which paints the vivid picture indicated in its title, "Dos Arroyos," where the lead guitar has a startlingly emotional and vocal quality, and "Faithful Stranger (Love Returns)."
The CD closes with a live version of "Three Clouds across the Moon" from 1997's Swing Shift. Ok, this one is a nine-and-a-half minute shred fest!
Together these albums offer a great insight into the guitarist that is Rik Emmett. The Best of chronicles Rik's evolution as a solo performer, and Strung-Out Troubadours provides a snapshot of the 2006 incarnation of Rik Emmett. I'm sure Rik will keep evolving and I hope he continues to invite us for a listen.
--
For more info about Rik and Dave see:
rikemmett.com
davedunlopmusic.com
Friday, November 17. 2006
An album combining the talents of Eric Clapton and J. J.Cale has been overdue since Clapton recorded Cale's song "Cocaine" in 1977 on the album Slow Hand. Listening to this album, it seems as if the relationship picked right up where it left off. To say that this is a natural pairing would be an incredible understatement. It almost sounds like J. J. and Eric are living inside each other's heads.
Starting with the cut "Danger," which sounds like it came out of the studio ', this is a solid 14 track disc that fans of both Clapton and Cale will enjoy immensely. "Missing Person" is a swanky, barroom blues rag, one of my favorite tracks on the disc, as is the smoky sultry "Sporting Life Blues." "Dead End Road" is a country/swing number complete with fiddle. "Three Little Girls" is a delicate soft composition. The whole disc just glides effortlessly back and forth between soft rock and southern blues. Most of the songs on the disc were penned by Cale, who has left his mark indelibly on Clapton's musical stylings over the years.
Of course, Eric and J .J. did have a little help with this disc. In fact just counting musician,s there are over 20 credited on the sleeve, and not your average, everyday session players either. The late Billy Preston on the Hammond organ, Taj Mahal on some sweet harmonica riffs, and some extra help on the guitars by Doyle Bramhall II, John Mayer and Albert Lee. This is an all-star blues lineup.
If I have only two complaints, my first is that this disc was just a little too well produced and clean. This disc almost needs some dirty scratchy pops and a little rougher/raspier/rawer edge. My other issue is that although the sleeve lists all the players, it doesn't tell you who played on which tracks, and with such an all-star cast that would be nice to know. But if those are my only complaints, they are insignificant in relation to the rest of the disc.
Track list under the jump.
Continue reading "CD Review: J. J.Cale and Eric Clapton - The Road to Escondido"
Wednesday, November 8. 2006
Man, Protest the Hero is a breath of fresh air! As I said in the premier installment of Canadian Bands That Don't Suck, "These kids can play."
In a world seemingly dominated by pop metal (which I have gone on record as liking as well) from the likes of Three Days Grace, Nickelback and Hedley, it makes me all warm inside to hear a band that can really rip and make some great thought-provoking music.
At first listen it's not completely original, and I immediately think of Avenged Sevenfold, Panic! at the Disco, and Alexisonfire, but as i dig deeper I find PtH has created something I have a hard time saying I've heard before. I feel like one of those wine snobs as I listen to the album (again and again and again) ..... I hear a hint of Yngwie Malmsteen, with a precocious smattering of Iron Maiden, a little Testament, with a whisper of King Diamond.
The pigeonholers seem to have a hard time pigeonholing this type of music. Is it metal, punk, screamo, emo, what is it? I guess "metal" today is the brutal gutteral beating put out by Children of Bodom and the like. Nope, PtH won't fit in that niche. Punk is easier to define as it hasn't changed a lot in the last 30 years. Quite obviously PtH doesn't belong there. I guess screamo and emo are close. I consider PtH Good Music. Plain and simple, 'aint it?
As evidenced in a blog entry, the band seems to feel this classification problem depending who they are touring with:
On a "metal" tour we are a pussy little emo band, and on an "emo" tour we are a heavy fucking metal band....
As far as music that's great to put on and rock out to, Kezia is fantastic. The real surprise comes when you pay attention to the lyrics and descend into the "concept." Kezia - sentenced to die, the priest and the prison guard/executioner all get equal billing on this dark journey.
One of the most surpsising moments comes at 4:20 into "Blindfolds Aside." The acoustic interlude is spellbinding.
Sin I didn't care for, but a sin that paid my debts
A sin that fed my children and burned my smiles and cigarettes
"The Soonest to the Sea," with its message about the position of women in our society, left me sitting and thinking for quite a while afterward.
The spoken:
So when you bled on the bed as you fed those expectations as a whore and not a human
You embraced with hesitation the very parameters of all you can be
Not a mother, not an aunt, not a sister that's not subdued
Because dignity's not physical and your flesh means more than you
and the outro/chorus:
Maybe someday when, when this bloody skull has dried
Know our city is in ruins when our greatest source of pride,
A monument of dicks and ribs and the gender crown we wore
Where underneath, a plaque will read, a plaque will read, No woman is a whore
Incredible musicianship, phenomenal vocals, and intelligent lyrics from a bunch of teenagers. Buy this album.
It looks like I'll be covering their December 9th show in Toronto. Keep an eye out for a review and photos soon after.
Also See:
protestthehero.com
http://myspace.com/protestthehero
Thursday, November 2. 2006
One of my secret addictions favorite music stores is PerfectBeat.com, and they got some hot alternative dance CDs in this week. The best and brightest is the sizzling six-song CD of Moby's "New York, New York" with Debbie Harry singing vocals. A song has to be really good to get me to spend twelve bucks on a CD with six different versions of it and nothing else. This one is.
Moby also released a CD with several remixes of "Slipping Away (Crier la vie)," featuring vocals by French-Canadian chanteuse Mylene Farmer. Same twelve bucks, only four cuts. Hey, it was number one in France. Perhaps my 80s roots are showing, but I liked the Debbie Harry release better.
Basement Jaxx got all screwy wonderful with six remixes of "Take Me Back to Your House," which kind of sounds like Jewel got high with the Scissor Sisters and then went into the studio with Basement Jaxx, I have no idea how else to describe it. It's bizarrely addictive and totally danceable.
All in all, a good week for weird dance music.
After the harder "crunch" of the first Evanescence album, I eagerly anticipated this next release. I popped into my CD player in the truck on the way home from the store and almost turned around to see if they had slipped a Sarah McLachlan disk in the sleeve by mistake.
Wel,l I've driven around the block a few more times (it was in my CD player for a week) and unfortunately, it's not a mistake. There is no "crunch" to this album, not a single song with a hard edge. I don't even think I hear a radio single. Any "crunchiness" that this disk had was removed in the edits, or was added during the edits almost as an afterthought. While this disc might cut it at a Lillith Fair audition, it's not what I'd hoped for.
It is a tremendous solo showcase for Amy Lee, although again I don't hear a single, but I don't think its fair to label this an "Evanescence" disc. I guess I'll have to rely on Flyleaf to supply that "crunchy" female lead vocal.
Track list under the jump.
Continue reading "CD Review: Evanescence - The Open Door"
Monday, October 30. 2006
The gods of college radio, R.E.M. bubbled up out of the cauldron that was Athens, GA, in the 80s. They got signed to indy label I.R.S. and burst out with one of the best rock albums ever recorded, Rolling Stone's 1983 best album of the year, Murmur.
And I Feel Fine: Best of the I.R.S. Years 1982-1987 draws heavily on Murmur and its follow-up, Reckoning, making it a much more valuable compilation of the wonder that was early R.E.M. than 1998's Eponymous - and not just for the choice of material. The sound quality is light years better.
But forget all that, and understand this: Pay the extra bucks and get the Collectors Edition. The second disc is absolutely loaded with demos, b-sides, and live cuts, and all kinds of great material. And then, what the hell, go get the companion DVD, When the Light is Mine... The Best of the I.R.S. Years 1982-1987 Video Collection, too - lots of stuff there I've never even heard of before, let alone seen.
These discs are absolutely golden for old fans (even if you already have most of it), and those who want to understand R.E.M. in the days before the line between "indy" and "mainstream" got blurred.
Complete CD and DVD track listings under the jump.
Continue reading "CD Review - R.E.M., And I Feel Fine: Best of the I.R.S. Years 1982-1987"
Wednesday, October 25. 2006
Don't get me wrong.
I love Soundgarden and its lead vocalist, Chris Cornell. Soundgarden's album Badmotorfinger is still one of my top 50 rock albums of all time, as is Rage Against The Machines debut release. I own both these band's complete catalogs, and am a total fan of each. Seperately each in itself is a strong and well matched unit. Combined, they sound about as comfortable together as size 8 shoes on size 12 feet.
I've tried really really hard to enjoy these guys. I bought their debut and Out of Exile when they were released and crossed my fingers each time. Each time I have been disappointed. I am no less disappointed with this latest release. The styles are too different, Cornell's voice is too lyrical and needs a band with a more fluid sound behind it. When he gets that sound his voice works well. Here, as in each of the other releases, Zach De La Rosa's old band's sound is halting, choppy and fixed, and it calls more for a rapping style of vocalist, like De La Rosa's, to complement it well. Cornell tries but his voice sounds abbreviated and halted, like he's waiting on the rest of the band to catch up to him all the time.
Try as they might, I don't think that their styles will ever mesh well enough to allow them to create the kind of work they created seperately. Either Cornell has to slow down to his band's abrupt style, which doesn't sound like it's working now and is a waste of his talent, or the band will have to completely have to change their musical style to accomodate Cornell. That doesn't appear to be happening, at least not from what I hear on this or their previous discs. I listened to this disc for a full week and can honestly say that none of the songs was memorable enough for me to mention, other than list them below.
1. Revelations 4:11
2. One And The Same 3:37
3. Sound Of A Gun 4:20
4. Until We Fall 3:51
5. Original Fire 3:41
6. Broken City 3:49
7. Somedays 3:34
8. Shape Of Things To Come 4:35
9. Jewel Of The Summertime 3:53
10. Wide Awake 4:26
11. Nothing Left To Say But Goodbye 3:33
12. Moth
Saturday, October 21. 2006
Cattle Decapitation is incredible, and their new release, Karma Bloody Karma, is really something unique. I need to talk a bit about the band before the review as these guys are far from your ordinary death metal band. Grind bands are usually guys who just want to be as brutal as possible, and although lyrically some of these bands really give you something to think about, you’d really never know what the fuck they were screaming about unless you bought the CD and read the lyrics. Cattle Decapitation seems to have matured into a great death metal band but the brutality is a major factor. Throw in some multi-genre influence and you have a finished product that could be easily overlooked as just another band - but that, they are not. They’re practically in a league of their own.
I read the lyrics to this CD (since Metal Blade Promos come with the covers, which is really great! Many labels only send the discs) after a few listens. I was a little confused, but impressed at the same time. This made me look at the band's site as well as what the label has for them on their site, and I came to realize just how different this band is from most. Most death metal is very typical. It consists of horror and gore movie influence, anti-religious themes, violence, and brutality. This record is full of hate, but it is towards humanity and spells it out quite clearly.
One of the most powerful moments for me on this record is in track one, "Unintelligent Design." When speaking of humans the hatred is delivered in a crushing hypnotic riff....
Idiots!...Backwards!....Self-serving!...Self Righteous!...All Consuming!...Bastards!
Lyrics like these can be considered common, however the band's lyricist/vocalist has been known for his “obsessively gore orientated musings laced with pro vegetarian/anti human posture.� There’s the twist. Some metal bands try to be cooler than the next by basically hating everything, and there is no explanation needed. It usually revolves around religion. There’s reason behind the hatred on this record and it is pretty bold in my opinion to go against the grain and offer something that not many other bands would dare try. Their bio mentions their Humanure album, featuring artwork described as the ultimate revenge on humanity. A cow excreting human remains. Now that is fucking smart...and sick! I mean, the record doesn’t make me wanna be a vegan, but hell, it makes you think about the sickness us carnivores support, since we do not often think about how the food we eat gets on our tables. I mean being a snake breeder the amount of rodents I personally basically kill doesn’t bother me much, and I am not too sympathetic when I drive past a field of cows. I’d kill the damn thing myself if I was hungry enough.
Regardless, this record gets under your skin. It makes you think about things, and it points out the faults that we should be ashamed of but aren’t, as well as mocking the way some people follow what they believe without much question. It is harsh and it goes in many directions from technical arrangements to an occasional simple haunting moment - as I mentioned before, almost hypnotic. The guys know how to play, and they do it well. I would like to know how long they worked on writing this record because it is phenomenal. The sound quality is killer, and each member has done an outstanding job, but the vocals and lyrics are just too much .... I mean fucking amazing.
There’s an abundance of chaos on the record, but this is not grindcore. I would call this death metal. Plenty of blasting drums, but that does not equal grind. The same goes for a few sweeping arpeggios, that does not make a guitar solo - but I think this guy knows that. His guitar work is excellent and the minimal soloing keeps the heaviness of the record at the level of intensity that sometimes is lost when death metal guys become possessed by Malmsteen. I’d bet this guy was a Human Remains fan. Either that or he must have relatives in New Jersey where us oddball metal musicians come from. Some say there’s something in the water.
The band will be touring again soon, something they apparently do a lot of. They have Kevin Talley (ex-Dying Fetus) drumming and will be on the road with Goatwhore. I will not miss this tour and have to tell you, I have listened to this disc no less than fifty fucking times. This review has taken me so god damn long I have a pile of discs collecting dust on my desk and many of them are great. The thing is, I feel I have barely done my job here. I hope I piqued your interest in hearing this record. You'll understand after you listen to it and read the lyrics why I felt it was so important to make you understand this is not a typical band or record. This is the type of record you could overlook, and that would not be cool. This record is a masterpiece and it is addicting. I myself almost stuck with the initial thought that this was some sort of typical record and I am glad I took so long to really take it in. The more you listen to it, the angrier you get. It is fucking powerful, chaotic and brilliant. Check it out
Wednesday, October 18. 2006
When I started writing for this site I announced I would not waste much of my time on bad reviews - and I won’t. This record has some good points, but I will never put this on again, one spin was enough for me, thanks.
The write up on the Metal Blade site says there’s almost a raw punk vibe on this record. Really? Where the hell is that? This to me is 85 percent Slayer worship to the point of cloning. The vocals are different and some of the drumming is faster, but the guitars have Slayer written all over them. Why Slayer is not mentioned in this write up is just ridiculous.
It is a great sounding record. I am sure some people will find this very appealing, but if I wanna hear Slayer I'll listen to Slayer.
The production leaves nothing to complain about. Crisp and heavy and very audible. The vocal style fits the music well, no singing or melody here. The guys can play, it's a tight record without any sloppiness. I think for me, it's just the fact that after listening to the disc, and reading what the label and band has to say about this band, I'm sitting here wondering, how you could say you’re old school but doing something different as compared to bands of today? There has been a resurgence of old bands making comebacks and current bands showing this influence, so I don’t get it. To claim nothing thrashy is coming out anymore? Huh??? They describe themselves as street metal? I just can’t stand it.
The lyrics... Well, here’s an example:
Assassins unscavenge.
Aesthetic trauma.
Bringer of the rising tide of low carb suicide.
I seriously hate this guy's lyrics, can’t stress that enough but....
In all seriousness. If you like the type of metal with the first few notes of "Reign In Blood" rearranged eighty-nine different ways, this record is for you. It does not suck at all, it's a good record, but for me it's something I've heard a million times before. I love the older metal records and I'm glad these guys are trying to rekindle some of the old spirit, but hopefully their next record will be a bit more original. This record shows potential, as they as a group have the ingredients to make great records, but I don't think this is one of them.
Wednesday, September 20. 2006
There's baggage and then there's Three Days Grace (3DG). 3DG frontman Adam Gontier either has a lot of issues he's worked/working through or a very vivid (if not very fertile) imagination.
While their self-titled debut dealt with, among other things, Adam's anger toward his father, One X drags us into self destruction, drug abuse, crumbling relationships, and other dark topics. The scope of the album is a little limited, with several songs on the topic of women fucking you over and how you've moved on, and several others about being a misfit.
I wanted to love this album. These guys grew up just down the road from me and I remember hearing of them in the "Groundswell" days. I really wanted to love this album.
In my initial draft of this review I really felt that I couldn't love this album.
Angry disenfranchised teens would eat this stuff up. When I was 16 I would have loved this and felt like Adam was talking directly to me. I've been to the dirty underbelly and come out the other side, 3DG isn't really telling me anything I don't know.
But......
Just yesterday I realized that every time I get in my car I put it on. What's that mean? I guess, what it may lack in substance and breadth it makes up for with some great hooks and solid riffs.
The production values of One X are much improved over those of their first release. This time the guitars don't sound like they were played through a Peavey Backstage Plus with a Boss Metal Zone and recorded on a Fostex 4 Track. The vocals are also higher in the mix and overall the sound is less muddy.
High points:
Animal I Have Become
On My Own
Get Out Alive
Monday, September 11. 2006
The truly sad part of this review is, this is what I consider a new band. Their last recording was in 2004. But hell, that was two years ago. And that was a major release. Their first was an EP in 2001. That was five years ago. This isn't a new band by any means. So it is mildly sad that it took me until this spring to find the band. Once again, thank gawd for Sirius. This is NOT a band you would hear on a regular radio station. And since well we don't really have a heavier music station here in Milwaukee anymore,I would have never heard them. They are trying to sell their music to fans, not advertisers. Looks like I have to track back in time and get the other CD now.
Unearth are heavier in the vocals than you would expect hearing the guitars. Guitar-wise, they remind me of Maiden. Remember a time when the guitars told the stories? You actually hear harmonies in this stuff. The vocals are raw and guttural, but not the chunk growl with death metal. Almost thrash vocals that are kinda like Phil Anselmo. The drums come hard and fast and brutal and at times almost march like. The drums on this band will be the thing to drive the pit at a show, not the guitars.
Lyrically it seems like a lot of inner searching was almost put into them. Also reflection on politics, which is always a long standing metal theme. From "So It Goes":
Take us back - reawake
Take us back - erase the wrongs that plague us
Reawake - rewrite the page that changed me
Take us back - to the times of cherished past
Seems almost as if major life hell came down on the band as a whole when writing lyrics like that. Then again, I could be over thinking things. Reading too much into the picture. However I like to think the words have a little meaning to them. The song " This Time Was Mine" is about a family member of Trevor Phipps who was dying and the issues surrounding it and how it affected everyone involved. I love when lyrically, you get a piece of the people. Personal touch to the music is a great thing.
Fave Tracks
"This Glorious Nightmare" - chorus kicks hiney
"March of the Mutes"
"Imposter's Kingdom"
BTW Don't forget, Unearth Ozz Fest shots are in the photo gallery. :)
Wednesday, September 6. 2006
Do you ever like a song and feel like some kind of alien infection got into your brain or you wouldn't? Kind of like falling in love with someone you know is bad for you, or maybe more like eating junk food, I don' t know.
I fell in love with "Sleepwalking" by Maria Lawson. Big old schmoopy pop song. She's a British singer who won some kind of hideous reality TV competition thing, the type of show I'd rather swallow ground glass than watch.
And then, less distressingly, I stumbled on one called "Love Burns" by California indie band Black Rebel Motorcycle Club, a not-new-but-new-to-me song, that I can't seem to stop playing.
And I recently got some of my beloved old Dead Kennedys' songs into digital format and have been blissing out reliving my misspent youth and thinking " Holiday in Cambodia" probably really was the best punk song ever. Except for "Nazi Punks, Fuck Off," that was the best.
Or "California Uber Alles."
I don't know, some of us never grew up. And yet even that didn't inoculate me against big swoony Britpop.
And after seeing a version of "Because the Night" by Bruce Springsteen and Bono on YouTube, I had to cleanse my brain by cranking Patti Smith's original version as loud as possible for several hours. I know Bruce Springsteen co-wrote the song with Patti Smith, but her version owns me. Always has, always will.
Friday, September 1. 2006
Eagerly anticipated by me (and that's all that matters!), this is the evilest band I know of. While I am mildly disappointed that neither Slayer or Deicide were able to manage a release on 6/6/6, I'm damned glad they didn't make me wait too long.
Glenn Benton, the only person to actually frighten me, has not really mellowed with age one bit. Deicide is one of the true forbearers of death metal as we know it today. From the Florida underground many years ago, to world wide dominance. Honestly, this is the most melodic and clean recording by the band I've heard. Recent additions to the band of guitarists Jack Owen (ex-Cannibal Corpse) and Ralph Santolla (ex-Iced Earth/Death) are probably responsible for this. While Cannibal is death metal in the truest sense, Iced Earth is a whole different ball game and seems to have brought a different, cleaner feel to the music. Glenn's vocals seem far less forced than in previous years, and have a stronger force behind them. Almost a relaxed feel. It is still the Benton growl, but seems to have something more almost aged or mellowed, but those aren't good words. Almost that his voice has become perfection. Critics of death metal say they can't understand the lyrics. While there are some bands that, yes I agree that is an issue, I have never seemed to have a problem with Benton. Steve Asheim on drums has the heart pounding speed and double bass going that is a true death metal staple.
Lyrically it is what you would expect from Deicide. Heavy satanic influences in every song. From title track "Stench of Redemption":
Bow to a God I will never want,
Look him in the face as I taste his blood..
Fall to my knees and forget myself..
Rot with disgust and no dignity..
Enemy of me you will always be...
This is death metal at its purest form. The originators. Age has not taken their edge of in the least. While some bands talk the talk of Satanism for giggles and sales, I truly suspect Benton practices what he preaches.
While the turmoil in change of guitarist is always tragic, I think the new members really make this album great. Who would have ever thought I would say "Hey the new Deicide is really freaking good. So melodic!" Honestly not me, let alone anyone else. The solos on the album really seem to give the band a new car type of feel. Fresh and clean and all brand spanking new. While I can't replace my fav Deicide, (not quite ready to give up old loves babe) I have to say this may replace Legion in my regular play.
My only true bitch is that this album is too damned short. Song length is about 4 minutes each song and it seems to be over as soon as it starts. Short of that little issue, this is the reason I listen to death metal. And this reason seems aged to perfection.
Fav Tracks:
Black Night
Not of this Earth
Tuesday, August 29. 2006
I've listened to this disc a lot and it really grabbed me from the first play and hasn't let go. This band really has some serious potential. I love the drumming, which at times is as brutal as death metal, but no bones about it, these guys are very melodic.
The vocalist is really impressive. No screaming here, this guy can sing his ass off and his voice is very complementary to the music. He reminds me of a young Bruce Dickinson and the guitars seem influenced by Maiden, but a hell of a lot faster and much more technical.
The musicianship is top notch and the songs are well structured. The record flows from song to song and holds your attention. The type of CD that gets to the last track, ends and starts again and more often than not gets a second spin instead of playing another record. The opening track is my favorite and horns up to Eric Rutan (Hate Eternal/ Mana Studios) for engineering such a great sounding disc. He really did a great job of making this band burst out of your speakers and I’d bet the band themselves are stoked to have had their art captured in its finest form. Freaking awesome!
There’s a fair amount of melody and harmonies for both the guitars and vocals which make me wonder if anyone in the band sings back up for their live performances? Regardless I can not wait to see these guys. I bet they tear it up. The art work on their CD cover is impressive and the packaging is top notch. A fine power metal release from Metal Blade that is sure to bring a lot of attention to a well deserved band. This is the kind of record that older metal heads who moved onto the heavier genres, namely death and back metal, could hear and say something along the lines of “now this is something I can really appreciate.� This is just incredible, I mean traditional metal gone over the top. Harsh screaming or guttural vocals would have ruined this record. It is flawless! This is so god damned metal MANOWAR probably listens to it! It is so god damned metal you’ll shit bullets when listening to it! Cheese free power metal! It is so god damned metal you will basically be a total poser for not buying it, so get you hands on this disc and be god damned metal!
Monday, August 21. 2006
There are few bands that really make political statements so perfectly, and Slayer has always been one that really hides it perfectly in their lyrics and makes you eventually start to listen and think.
The long-awaited release from Slayer proves that while they may have been around for a long time, they are still one of the strongest bands out there. Being an old fart (well sort of) Slayer is one of my top bands. Add to it that Kerry keeps snakes, and we have a winner. But I digress.
Some of the songs are a tad slower than in the past, however, no less powerful. It is wonderful to have the gang back together. It is also to know that thrash metal still lives in its most perfect form. This album is also one of the most protested ones they have put out in a while. I actually heard of churches planning on going out and visiting record stores in Wisconsin to save the hordes of Slayer fans from losing their souls. Thankfully I pre-ordered my CD with a new Wermacht shirt. The old shirt is in storage now as I can not longer wash it without it falling apart. But once again my brain is straying.
In my opinion, "Catalyst" is lyrically the best Slayer song ever written. Of course that is because I closely associate with the words.
Attitude is my addiction
I live life with no regrets
Unlike you it's my conviction
That sets me apart from the rest
Then again the words speak of how I live my life exactly. Never look back and never have regrets.
"Jihad" is another great song. It has the lovely slow grind that is almost a Slayer trademark. Even without Tom's vocals I could easily know it was Slayer. "Cult," the first single, is another phenomenal classic song. My only complaint with the entire CD, in fact, is the very beginning intro to "Skeleton Christ" is kinda cheesy, however, the song on a whole is fantastic.
Slayer, dark as ever, does not disappoint. Heavy on themes and lyrics that make you think, it left one person I know asking "What did God ever do to them." If nothing more than inspiring a great album, I'm not complaining.
Lastly, as in the past, Larry Carroll did a great job on the cover art.
Fav Songs:
Catalyst
Cult
Jihad
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